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30 Air India pilots caught in pre-flight alcohol test

Shemin Joy, DH News Service, New Delhi, Aug 13 2017, 19:21 IST

Last year saw the highest at 12 while till June this year, there were two such incidents for Air India pilots. File Photo

Thirty Air India pilots were tested positive for alcohol during pre-flight test since 2014, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).

While there were five pilots who were tested positive for the first time in 2014, six were tested for alcohol during the pre-flight tests in 2015.

Last year saw the highest at 12 while till June this year, there were two such incidents for Air India pilots.

According to the statistics placed in Parliament recently, there were three pilots who tested positive for alcohol in 2015 and two other last year. In 2014 or this year until June, there are no such cases.

The Ministry also told Parliament that it was "not a common occurrence" that the pilots failing pre-flight alcohol tests.

It also said the existing rules and regulations are adequate enough to deal with the situation.

The Rule 24 of Aircraft Rule 1937 prohibits the consumption of an intoxicating and psychoactive substance by a person acting as or carried in aircraft for the purpose of acting as pilot, commander, navigator, engineer, cabin crew or other operating member of the crew.

If a crew is caught for the first offence, his or her licence will be suspended for three months and it is three years in the case of second violation. A crew loses the licence permanently is he or she is caught for the third time.